Centennial - News

Arizona celebrates a century of statehood

by Josh Susong - Feb. 13, 2012 10:53 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

A century ago, a Western territory became the 48th star on the flag.

Arizona then was a different place than it is today. The Grand Canyon was here, of course, and the saguaro-studded hillsides of the low desert. The monoliths of Monument Valley towered in the northeast. The Native American tribes had long been here, and some of the early settlers. But there were no freeways, no skyscrapers, no Hoover Dam.

On its first day, Arizona had only an independent streak and an eye toward the future.

Soon, there would be soldiers and pilots preparing for a world war, then workers following the rooftops, retirees following the sunshine. And the state would spread out across its deserts and hillsides. Arizona would see the mighty Colorado River dammed, see tiny colleges grow into flourishing universities. As its first century swept by, the state would step into the glare of the spotlight, with the world watching its controversies and its triumphs.

At the end of that century, Arizona finds itself still a bit like that tiny place plucked from a territorial existence so long ago.

The Grand Canyon is still here, its cliffs and shadows forever looming. The saguaros still blanket the desert hillsides. Monument Valley towers afar. And the people, so many more than before, press on -- each with an independent streak and always an eye toward the future.